November 2010 Santa Barbara Channelkeeper Newsletter

November 2010

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper News & Events
News Events The Future of Our Ocean

Depends on YOU!
The Future of California's Ocean
Depends on YOU! Please Attend December 15th
Meeting in Santa Barbara to Adopt
Clean-Up of Toxic Soils in Marine Protected Areas
Carpinteria Moving Forward
With your help, history will be made on
Channelkeeper Resumes Winter December 15th in Santa Barbara, when we have
Beach Sampling a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to safeguard Southern California's oceans for
future generations by adopting a series of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along
our coast. After more than two years and hundreds of hours of stakeholder
November Stream Team negotiations, public testimony and agency input, the CA Fish and Game
Commission will hold its final public hearing (at Hotel Mar Monte, 1111 East
Volunteers Needed for Office Help Cabrillo Blvd.) to consider and vote on what small sections off the South Coast
(from Point Conception to the Mexican border) will be established as MPAs. The
creation of a statewide network of MPAs is required by California's Marine Life
Jack Johnson Tour Benefits Protection Act of 1999, a forward-thinking law that aims to protect the state's
Channelkeeper! valuable marine ecosystems and ocean culture.
Become a Channelkeeper Member Before the Commission are four different proposals for MPAs in Southern
California, ranging from one (Proposal #2) that prioritizes fishing industry
interests and falls short of meeting the scientific guidelines for MPA design, to one
(Proposal #3) that prioritizes conservation interests and satisfies all the scientific
guidelines. A third proposal, the "Integrated Preferred Alternative" (IPA), is a
compromise between the other three proposals and has been identified as the
Commission's preferred proposal. However, despite the fact that this proposal
Did You Know?
sets aside only a fraction of the ocean for protection while leaving nearly 85%
open to fishing (including the vast majority of popular fishing spots), vocal
High school students can earn opponents are still calling for less protection and even attempting to undermine
credit for volunteering at the process entirely.
Channelkeeper
For this reason, it is absolutely critical that we have an overwhelming showing of
public support for MPAs at the December 15th meeting. Channelkeeper
encourages all our readers to attend the meeting and voice support for the
Commission's adoption of the IPA as the bare minimum level of protection. Also,
please join Channelkeeper in expressing particular support for the protection of
Naples Reef off Santa Barbara's Gaviota Coast in a fully protected, no-take marine
reserve. Naples Reef is a biological jewel, identified by scientists as one of the
most diverse and productive habitats in all of Southern California. Safeguarding
such a unique reef as a fully protected underwater reserve would provide
exponential biological benefits as well as incredible recreational diving
Channelkeeper is always looking opportunities. Please email or call us at 805.563.3377 ext 2 for more information.
for volunteers to help our
organization. Email or call us at
805.563.3377 for more Clean-Up of Toxic Soils at Carpinteria Oil & Gas
information. Facility Moving Forward

It's been a long time coming, but the clean-up of soils

contaminated with DDT and other toxic chemicals at
Venoco's Carpinteria Oil & Gas Processing Facility is
finally moving forward. Channelkeeper bird-dogged
the development of this clean-up plan for the past
four years, filing Public Records Act requests and
reviewing thousands of pages of technical documents
and records of negotiations between the Regional
Water Quality Control Board and Venoco and Chevron
(the former owner of the property), which led to our

discovery that Venoco and Chevron were only willing
to conduct a partial and inadequate clean-up that
would've left substantial volumes of contaminated soil behind. Channelkeeper also
collected water and soil samples from the site to demonstrate its ongoing threats
to the environment and public health. We submitted extensive comment letters
and testified before the Regional Water Board and Carpinteria's Environmental
Review Committee and Planning Commission and advocated for a stronger clean-
up that prioritizes the protection of people's health and the environment rather
than the pocketbooks of Venoco and Chevron. After its final stop at the City's
Planning Commission last month, we are extremely happy to report that our
advocacy was successful in securing significant improvements to the remediation
plan, and the end result is a plan that is more stringent than that being
implemented at any DDT-impacted site in the entire nation. We are thrilled to
have been able to help Carpinterians get the clean-up they deserve!
SBCK Resumes Winter Beach Sampling

Starting November 8th, Channelkeeper will resume weekly
bacteria sampling at 12 local beaches for the winter
months. In November 2008, Channelkeeper stepped up to
assume the task of weekly testing for indicator bacteria at
popular beaches throughout Santa Barbara County when
the Board of Supervisors cut funding for the effort during
the winter months. We recognized that, because local
surfers, ocean swimmers and other beachgoers don't stop
using our beaches for recreation in the winter months, a
lapse in beach water quality testing during the winter could
endanger public health. Please check the Daily Sound,
News Press or www.sbck.org every Wednesday for our
results, or email or call us at 805.563.3377 ext. 0 to receive
weekly beach reports via email.
Stream Team
No Ventura Stream Team in November
Goleta Stream Team, November 7th
Stream Team is Channelkeeper's volunteer-based

water quality monitoring program. Every month,
volunteers join Channelkeeper staff to test for common
water quality parameters at numerous sites in the Ventura River and Goleta
Slough watersheds. Come join us to help protect our local waterways. Ventura
Stream Team will not take place this month, but Goleta Stream Team will be held
on Sunday, November 7th at 10 am. For more information, visit our website,
email us or call 805.563.3377 ext.0.
Volunteers Needed for Office Help

It's time once again for us to mail Channelkeeper's year-end
letter to update our supporters on our many accomplishments
over the past year. This appeal helps us generate critical
funds to support our important work to protect and restore
the Santa Barbara Channel and its watersheds.
We are currently seeking volunteers to help us fold letters and

stuff envelopes over the next three weeks, starting November
1st. If you have any free time during business hours and/or
early evening hours, or know of students that need to fulfill community service
hours, please email or call us (805.563.3377 ext. 4) to schedule a convenient
time. Even if you only have an hour, it's still a tremendous help.
Alternatively, join us on Tuesday, November 9th from 5-7pm at the

Channelkeeper office (714 Bond Avenue in Santa Barbara) when we'll provide
pizza and good company for all who come to help with the mailing. Please RSVP
if you are able to join us on Tuesday so we can make sure we have enough pizza.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Jack Johnson Tour Benefits Channelkeeper!
Channelkeeper was thrilled to participate in Jack

Johnson's 2010 To The Sea World Tour and All At Once,
a social action network connecting nonprofits with people
who want to become active in their community. At the
sold-out show on October 13th, we connected with
concert go-ers who stopped by the Village Green to learn
about Channelkeeper and other local environmental
groups. In additional, Jack's Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation matched
$2,500 in donations made to Channelkeeper from April through October. Many
thanks to all who contributed and enabled us maximize this matching opportunity.
And a huge thanks to Jack Johnson for supporting Channelkeeper and other local
groups and for all he does to raise awareness about important environmental
issues around the world!
Become a Channelkeeper Member!
Your support for Channelkeeper's efforts is needed

now more than ever. Become a member of the
Channelkeeper crew today with your tax-deductible
donation. You'll be investing in clean water and
healthy communities along the Santa Barbara
Channel today and for future generations. With your
membership, you will receive our regular
newsletters, news updates and action alerts,
invitations to special Channelkeeper events and fun
volunteer opportunities, and a free Channelkeeper
sticker. All new donors contributing $50 or more can
also receive a Channelkeeper t-shirt, and for
donations of $250 or more, quarterly issues of Waterkeeper magazine. Sign up
today by calling 805.563.3377 or emailing us.

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November 2010

News Events The Future of Our Ocean

It's been a long time coming, but the clean-up of soils

SBCK Resumes Winter Beach Sampling

Stream Team is Channelkeeper's volunteer-based

Volunteers Needed for Office Help

We are currently seeking volunteers to help us fold letters and

Alternatively, join us on Tuesday, November 9th from 5-7pm at the

Channelkeeper was thrilled to participate in Jack

Become a Channelkeeper Member!

Your support for Channelkeeper's efforts is needed

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